


A small touch

by iriswritessometimes



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Affection, Ashe is so sweet but he's kind of an idiot, Consent, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Healthy Relationships, Intimacy, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Touch Starved Dedue, Vulnerability, Yearning, consent is important even without sex!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26670973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iriswritessometimes/pseuds/iriswritessometimes
Summary: Dedue is touch starved, and Ashe wants to help him get accustomed to being touched again. Their relationship evolves from friendly affection into something more.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	A small touch

It all starts with a small touch.

Dedue has never been one for giving affection, let alone receiving it. It's something that feels selfish to him, even if the contact is accidental. For him, the kindness of being accepted at all is enough. But, he's noticed a small detail about himself.

His aversion to touch isn't just a preference. He finds himself jumping or flinching at any sort of touch, and the looks he receives when his innate reaction to affection are usually ones of confusion or sometimes even concern. He hates that he bothers people in this way over something they shouldn't even be giving to him in the first place. It feels even more selfish to make someone worry about him. When he first realizes this, he assumes it's just a kind of cultural shock he will eventually adjust to, but after months go by and nothing changes, he's resigned himself to dealing with funny looks sent his way. Of course, if it were just annoyed faces, that would be nothing new to him. The fact that people started to go out of their way to ask him if he was okay with their touch or just stopping all together, he feels as if he has robbed his peers of a sense of normalcy around him. The people here are too caring to let even the smallest nuance go, and his condition has not let up in the slightest. He's just hyper aware of it now.

Then, one afternoon when he's sharing a meal with Ashe, their hands brush at the table, and he flinches at the contact. He knows what to expect now, the awkward "are you okay" or uneasy silence. Ashe is too courteous to let something like this go. It's so regretful that he wants to get up and leave before Ashe can waste his sympathy on him. But, Ashe starts talking before he can excuse himself.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I scared you Dedue!" Dedue finds himself unable to tear his eyes away from Ashe's anxious gaze. He looks so genuinely unsettled. It wrenches his heart.

"There is no need for that. I am fine. You have my apologies if I startled you as well."

He can see the thoughts piling up in Ashe's head, and he finds himself feeling worse by the second. "I wasn't startled, it was you! You know, I think I've seen this happen a couple of times before. Are you sure you're okay? I know it can be a bit awkward establishing boundaries, but nobody here would touch you if you didn't want it. "

His lips turn into a fine line. "There is no need for anyone to be troubled by my own issues. I would prefer it if no one here had to go out of their way to adapt to my presence. I am not hurt, so I do not see the problem here."

Ashe pouts at this admission. "You say you're not hurt, but being barely touched clearly makes your body uncomfortable, even if your mind says it doesn't. If you won't tell me to stop or what you're struggling with, is there any way I could help you?"

Ah, his most dreaded line of questioning. "You do not need to help me. I appreciate the sentiment."

"But only a small touch making you react like that is worthy of more than just words..." Dedue realizes Ashe is not going to drop the subject without having helped in some way. Perhaps, it would be even worse to leave him worrying than to ask for his assistance.

"Ashe. While I am not in pain, I would hate to see you worry and have myself be the cause. So, if it is agreeable to you, would you mind warming me up to human contact?" It does not show outwardly, but he is silently condemning himself for wording his proposition in such a way.

If the connotation of his words flusters Ashe, he doesn't let on. "I would be glad to! So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"I believe that my condition is rooted in receiving no healthy contact or bad contact from other people. I would hate to trouble you in this way, but maybe you could frequently introduce me into getting accustomed to touch without consequence."

Ashe gives him a warm smile. "I'm happy I got to talk to you about this Dedue. I'd been worried about this for awhile now, so I'm glad you're comfortable enough with me to ask for my aid. I think you mean stuff like patting you on the shoulder or hugging you, right? Does anything come to mind that you don't like?"

"I consent to try whatever comes to your mind. I will be sure to tell you if your advances are unwelcome at any point."

Ashe hesitates for a moment. "I just realized I might've been a bit forceful, but...I just wanted to help. Are you really okay with this? Please be honest with me."

"You know, I did not just ask this of you to sedate your worries. I hope to give people less reason to be afraid of myself as well. So please, do not be concerned as if you are opposing on me. You could never do that."

"A-Ah, I'm relieved...thank you Dedue." Ashe is practically radiating a soft light at this point. His pure hearted nature strikes a cord with Dedue.

"No, thank you Ashe." In a rare moment of softness, he smiles back at Ashe whose face tints pink.

"O-Of course! I'm always down to help a friend."

They resume their meal sitting a little closer.

Over the next few weeks, Dedue finds himself receiving daily affection from Ashe. He has no reason to complain, but it does take a bit of adjusting. A handshake when Dedue agrees to go to the market with him, a friendly push on the back when Dedue lags behind while they're walking, a quick massage to ease the tension out of his arms when he swings his axe too hard in battle. Ashe rarely talks about if it's helping him. Dedue finds himself preferring it that way. While he's nowhere near used to the sensations, he does find them more enjoyable than he could've ever anticipated. Back with his family in Duscur, this would've never been a problem. His happy family and community was full of boundless affection. But, ever since then, there has been nothing to compare it to, and everything to shy away from. Even Dimitri generally will try and not touch him too much to respect his wishes. But, Ashe is working with him to try and improve. It makes him want to try even harder.

It escalates to them being next to inseparable.

They don't just happen upon each other at this point. Joined at the hip, they do nearly everything together, and they no longer worry about Dedue flinching at Ashe's touch. When Dedue is moving a flower from its soil to a pot, Ashe will push gently on top of Dedue's hands to help situate it. When Ashe's hands are too shaky to properly cut vegetables, Dedue will place his steady hands over Ashe's to help him accurately make a meal. They hang out to garden, cook, clean, train, study, and even in their free time, they're with each other. It is clear that they will never tire of the other's presence.

Though nobody feels any need to bring up the change since it was such a natural progression, it's obvious that the two are enamored with one another. If it were anyone else in the monastery, someone would have told them to start dating already to cut through the tension. But truthfully, there is no tension between them to be spoken of. It is love in its purest, truest form. Not even the most gossip driven types have the heart to taint such innocence. 

Even better, Dedue's reactions to other people are becoming much less exaggerated or even perceptible sometimes. People bring it up to him on occasion, and he won't hesitate to tell them Ashe has helped him tremendously. Ashe usually tells him he's not taking enough credit, but Ashe always seems a little brighter whenever Dedue brings him up in conversation.

Another month passes without either of them realizing that consistently draping yourself over someone and borderline cuddling them at nearly opportunity you get them alone is not what most friends do. Even beyond that, friendship starts feeling like too small of a word to describe the affections they feel each other. For Dedue, it feels like he's finally made it back home again. He's back in Duscur in the comfort of his old kitchen making dinner with his mother and sister as they exchange lighthearted banter. It fills him to the brim, and he still is starving for more than what they already have. He cannot deny his most base desire: to stay with Ashe for as long as he can and more. A tender warmth is building up inside him just waiting to spill out. He wonders if Ashe is overcome in the same way or if he is, for once in his life, founded in his worries about wanting too much. He's well versed in controlling himself, but he can barely hold himself back with Ashe.

One night, they're studying in Ashe's room on his bed like they usually do, and Dedue looks up from annotating his book to steal a glance at Ashe's concentrating face. They're facing each other, but Ashe is deeply engrossed in whatever he's reading. Somehow, whenever Dedue looks up from his book, he finds himself unable to remember anything he had been reading the moment before. He knows he's not being subtle, but Ashe never seems to mind. He keeps looking.

A strand of hair falls into Ashe's face, and on instinct, Dedue scoots closer to him and tucks it behind his ear. Ashe jumps at the contact, and Dedue can't help the low chuckle that tumbles from his lips. Ashe's gaze feels heavy on his face. But, he's unable to break his hand away from the contact. He's resting it on Ashe's cheek now. They're even closer now, and the books are forgotten. But, Dedue can feel everything else. There's moonlight streaming into the room onto Ashe’s bed, a flickering candle glows on Ashe’s desk, the night breeze flips some pages in the books they've forgotten to close, the blankets they're sitting on are soft against his bare hands, and all he can think of now is Ashe. Ashe's face illuminated by the candle, the light catching Ashe's freckles, Ashe's floppy hair coming undone again from leaning in close for this long, Ashe's pale green eyes staring directly into his, and Ashe's cheek slotting perfectly into his palm. He's overwhelmed by his quiet beauty.

Dedue closes the distance and kisses him with a delicateness unfamiliar to him. He knows Ashe is not going to be broken by something as simple as a kiss, but he feels an profound desire to not mess this up. Ashe's lips are so warm and pliant against his own. When he pulls away after a few seconds that feel like hours, his lips still feel hot from where they kissed. Ashe smiles at him and turns his head down to keep reading his book. Dedue is left staring at the top of Ashe's head wishing for words that won't come.

He wonders if Ashe cares that he kissed him. It seems as if that development was so natural that it's not even worthy of being discussed, and maybe Dedue would be alright with that if Ashe's ears weren't so red they’re almost steaming. He goes to place his hand over Ashe's, which are so small in his that they practically are enveloped by them, but Ashe squeaks and pulls his hand back, and before Dedue can even think about what he's doing, he's grabbing Ashe's wrists and holding them by his ears. He gets a clear look at Ashe, and his whole face is bright red. He's biting his lip and averting his eyes, but at least his head faces him now.

"What's wrong, Ashe?"

A nervous smile plays on his lips. "O-Oh, it's nothing. I'm just a little embarrassed, you know? You k-kissed me, and I know it was just a kiss and all but," he flounders on what excuse to make. "I don't know, I guess I'm just not used to that kind of affection. I didn't know it was normal for the Duscur people to kiss their friends."

"It is not normal for my people to do that between friends."

Ashe's mouth gapes open like a fish out of water. "I-I feel faint."

He brings his lips to kiss the inside of Ashe's wrist. "That was _just_ a kiss...?"

Ashe yelps at the touch and stares at the place where Dedue's lips were connected a moment ago as if he's been burned there. He's silent for a good minute before finding out how to say words again.

"Umm, maybe. Uh. We could be more than friends? If that's okay..."

Dedue lets go of Ashe's hands to cup his face in his hands and kisses him again. It's another quick kiss, but Ashe is more prepared this time. He kisses back.

Now, when he pulls away, Ashe looks back at him with a lovestruck gaze in his eyes. It's swirling within the depths of his soul and is so easily read in the reflection of his irises. The next time they kiss, Ashe leans in to plant his lips firmly on Dedue's. He leans in so close he can feel Dedue's breath against his lips, but he's interrupted when Dedue chuckles again.

"Eager, aren't we?"

Ashe puffs out his cheeks at this. "Hey, wait! Don't make fun of me being eager when you kissed me twice already!"

Dedue smiles, and it warms Ashe to his very core. "I never said I wasn't."

Ashe breaks out into giggles and collapses into Dedue's chest. Dedue's chuckles vibrate his body as Ashe snuggles into his neck and places a gentle kiss there. Dedue couldn't be any happier as they cuddle and kiss until they fall asleep in the crooks of each other's bodies.

(When the academy finds them the next morning for classes, they decide to let them sleep in a little longer to celebrate having finally worked themselves out.)

**Author's Note:**

> ok so my brain actually decided to work for a couple hours and this happened which is pretty cool!! i am in love with ashedue. pry it from my cold dead hands fank yew  
> follow me on tumblr @iriswritessometimes for fic updates or if you wanna chat :p (also sorry btw idk how to embed a link on ao3 if you do know how to do that pls lmk)


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